Providing health care to 1000s in Bujumbura slum

 “My name is Jeanine; I joined the savings group in 2015 when I was invited by the social worker at FWA, who was assisting people living with HIV/AIDS, including myself.

At the time, I had no vision for my future. I lived in my older sister house and wasn’t working. As a sex worker, all the money I made was spent on beer.

However, a lot has changed since I joined saving group:

• I now run a beer cabaret business with 13 lockers, worth 400,000 FBU (135$).
• I bought a bike for 600,000 FBU (203$), which generates 2,000 FBU per day.
• I purchased a plot of land in Bukeye for 4,000,000 FBU (1354$).
• I’m able to rent a house where I live with my child.
• Through street business school program, I learned the importance of having a bank account, which has helped me save a significant amount for myself.

Because it was difficult to save money each day, I decided to join three savings groups. I set a goal to save 10,000 FBU (3$) per group every week. At the end of each year, I collect everything I’ve saved from these three groups and deposit it into my bank account.

I’ve become an influencer in my community. People around me, noticing my progress, started asking me about my secret, and I shared it with them: “it's the FWA’s SHG program”. Today, I’ve brought four groups to FWA on my own, I mean over 80 people.

I’m truly grateful to the SHG guides who support us in this work. In the SHG, we’ve built discipline and a competitive spirit. For example, in my first group, several women were able to purchase their own plots, and those who haven’t reached that point yet are motivated to get there because it has become a purpose for the group.”

“My husband was a civil servant in Burundi and he left his job to work in Kinshasa, DRC, but while he was there, he married another woman. Unfortunately, his job lasted only eight months due to unforeseen circumstances and he had to return to Burundi. It was a difficult time, especially since He could not return to work for the government.

I started to notice a change in him. He stopped taking care of me; when we slept, he would not touch me. Instead, he would focus on his phone to talk to his other wife, and I could not sleep. My heart was in pain.

Due to unemployment, he became depressed and we all suffer the consequences. He can even force us to leave the house for no reason, and sometimes we find ourselves without food or a place to sleep.

One day, he tried to hit me, so I ran away. In anger, He burned my clothes and I had no choice but to call the police. When they arrived, he was still burning my belongings. The police arrested him. What hurt me the most was his family’s reaction: they were counting the hours he would spend in prison and telling me that if he spent even one day there, I would have to face them. By the grace of God, my husband was released, but the pain stayed with me. I felt useless because his family supported him despite his misdeeds.

We live in fear and are exhausted. During this workshop, I realized that the physical pain I suffer, including stomach problems and fainting spells, comes from the emotional stress caused by my husband’s behavior. This experience helped me understand my own mental health and I learned how to build resilience and protect myself from further trauma.

• FWA_JANUARY_2025_NARRATIVE_REPORT_WEBSITE.doc (DOC)